Rocking devices, in particular for small children, are known from the prior art which are primarily intended to be suspended from the ceiling of a room and have either a simple rocker board (for older children) or a bag-like rocker seat of a textile material. However, the essentially seated position which the small child must assume in the known rocking devices creates problems of a physiological nature, because it is an unnatural position for the small child, in particular those of an age of approximately one month to approximately twelve months, i.e. small children who can not yet stand up by themselves or walk. In some cases this can result in damage to the back or hips of the child. The known rocking devices have the further disadvantage that they only insufficiently take into account the desire to move, which is already present in children at only four weeks of age, because the movement of the small child on its own is not possible without the assistance of another person. In most cases they must be attended by a helper, even if only for reasons of safety.